The Wealthy Eldest Sister Rules Supreme

Chapter 565: Chapter 552: House Arrest

“You should pay closer attention to managing your inner court!”

Chu Shengrui said with a gloomy face, “To manage the world one must first manage his own household, if you can’t even settle family matters, what can I expect you to do?”

Both Chu Yunhe and the Empress were taken aback by his words.

Is the emperor going to disregard them for this, even affecting the matter of succession to the throne?

“Father, this humble son has done wrong, this humble son has done wrong…” Chu Yunhe repeatedly kowtowed.

“Your Majesty, this concubine has made a mistake, please be lenient towards Yunhe.” The Empress also quickly pleaded for mercy, her voice trembling somewhat due to extreme fear.

Chu Shengrui looked at Chu Yunhe and the Empress, who were weeping bitterly at this time. The look on his face didn’t soften but rather became even more serious.

The empress is his wife, the master of the imperial harem. She should set an example for women in the world.

However, this empress of his is somewhat superficial. Many things she does lack the virtue and magnanimity that an empress should have, instead, she always thinks of her self-interest.

And the son she raised turned out to be the same.

Chu Shengrui gave a sigh in his heart.

When he was a prince, he was neither from the main line nor the eldest. He was born to a concubine of low rank, and he was not taken seriously at first. It was only after he showed his learning and his siblings were born that he gained favor in front of the late emperor.

Later, as his eldest brother suddenly passed away and the second brother harbored ulterior motives, the emperor’s throne fell onto him.

When he inherited the throne, he followed the wishes of the late Empress and married a woman of humble birth, who is now the Empress, and had a legitimate son.

Because he was neglected when he was young, he had to strive to overcompensate, and he also expected the same from his wife to shoulder great responsibilities and set a good example.

But now, his favoritism toward his daughter-in-law Mrs. Liang, his indulgence of Chu Yunhe, and his blow to Chu Yunzhao’s marriage, everything, he saw.

It reminded him of the many things he had not been able to control and the annoyance he had felt when he was oppressed by the previous empress. He felt more and more contempt for the Empress kneeling in front of him.

At this moment, he was also quite dissatisfied with Chu Yunhe.

As the legitimate and eldest son, his identity is extremely prestigious. He already has all these advantages. As long as he obeys the rules and strives for progress, the position of the crown prince will naturally be his.

It was for this reason that he personally arranged a marriage for Chu Yunhe with the legitimate daughter of the Wang family. However, Chu Yunhe just squandered these arrangements by favoring concubines and suppressing his wife, thus attracting criticism.

Chu Shengrui was becoming more and more annoyed. Especially when he saw the Empress and Chu Yunhe kneeling for a long while, uttering only words of apology and begging for forgiveness.

They couldn’t say a word about their future plans, let alone justify themselves.

Chu Shengrui was enraged by Chu Yunhe’s weakness and incompetence. He waved his hand and said, “Since you both have admitted your mistakes, go back and reflect upon your actions! Without my decree, you are not allowed to step out of the palace!”

The Empress and Chu Yunhe were both taken aback upon hearing this.

He didn’t specify who needed to reflect and was not allowed to go out, which means both of them.

Being reprimanded by his father is no big deal for Chu Yunhe, considered as a young prince who incited the emperor’s anger, would just be regarded as youthful impetuosity by outsiders.

But she was the Empress, and being grounded meant losing face throughout the palace and maybe even in the whole capital city.

More importantly, if she were grounded, it would signal to the world that she was out of favor and her son was also out of favor. How could she secure the throne for Chu Yunhe then?

“Your Majesty, please calm your anger, this concubine has made a mistake.”

Tears streamed down the Empress’s face, “This matter is nothing more than a trivial family affair…”

A trivial family affair?

Chu Shengrui’s face darkened even more.

Did she think that by shutting the gates of an ordinary wealthy house and dealing with dirty business in the inner court, everything would be hidden behind the towering gates and walls, with outsiders none the wiser?

She totally lacked the manner of an empress!

“Please return to the palace, Empress. Without my decree, you are not allowed to step out of the palace gate!” Chu Shengrui yelled angrily.

The shout was even louder than before, the Empress was startled that she almost collapsed to the ground. After regaining her wits, she realized that Chu Shengrui was truly angry and didn’t dare to beg again, she left while wiping away her tears.

Chu Yunhe was also trembling. Without waiting for Chu Shengrui to speak, he hurriedly retreated and rushed back to his mansion to reflect as Chu Shengrui had commanded.

The news that the Empress and Chu Yunhe had incurred the wrath of the Emperor and had been punished by being grounded spread quickly through every corner of the palace like it had wings.

At this time, the attitudes of various imperial concubines were different.

But because the Empress had not been completely fair in dealing with many things, many people did not admire her. When they heard about this, they felt it was expected.

Chu Jinnian was playing chess with Chu Yunzhao in Concubine Hui’s palace. When he heard about this, he held the chess piece in his hand and didn’t put it down for a long time.

“What, are you so happy that you don’t know where to move?” Chu Yunzhao laughed.

The empress was petty and jealous of favored and noble-born Concubine Hui, causing a lot of trouble for both him and her. Chu Yunzhao was filled with resentment towards the empress.

“The Empress and the elder prince are shortsighted and overly believe in destiny. Many things they do are inappropriate. It’s only to be expected that they would be punished. It was only a matter of time.”

Chu Jinnian put down the chess piece in his hand and looked up and said, “This time, the emperor is punishing them as a warning to others and also to vent his anger.”

His hesitation just now was not because of surprise, but because of concern.

In his previous life, it was because Chu Yunhe injured his leg. This time there was no such incident, but Chu Yunhe was grounded. Does this mean that the expedition to subdue bandits in Lu will really fall on Chu Yunzhao?

Chu Jinnian looked at Chu Yunzhao, full of worry.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Chu Yunzhao was puzzled at Chu Jinnian’s complex gaze.

“Nothing…”

“The Emperor is here!”

Before Chu Jinnian finished speaking, there was a loud shout outside.

Both quickly put down the chess pieces in their hands and, together with Concubine Hui who had hastily arrived from her bedroom, knelt down to greet the emperor.

“Get up.” Chu Shengrui casually helped up Concubine Hui, then sat down on the soft couch next to him, “So Jinnian is also here.”

“Yes, I am free today and came to pay respects to Concubine Hui. It just so happens that the Fourth Prince is also here so we started playing chess.” Chu Jinnian replied honestly.

Chu Shengrui glanced at the situation of the black and white pieces on the chessboard and burst into laughter.